Small Lightning Bolt
by Sammy Heroes
Summary: Doc never imagined he would find a baby car with the name of Lightning at his clinic's doorstep. And now he has to take care of a hotshot baby car who doesn't know the meaning of staying still. Father/son.
1. A baby?

The night was cloudy with a pretty good chance of a small storm. The red stock car drove through the dark route 66 with her headlights as her only guide. She drove at a slow pace, for she was carrying a small bundle on her hood. She couldn't keep it. She couldn't keep the baby car. She had 'friends' in low grounds and she had associated with the wrong cars. She made mistakes. Too many. They were going to kill her and the baby and she wouldn't let them to that to her little one. So she drove and drove, looking for a safe place for her son, until she got wind of a small town in the middle of the old Route 66. It was the last place they would think of looking for him.

She finally saw the town a few yards away and she drove in quietly. She didn't want anyone to notice her. To her relieve, there was no one outside. They were either sleeping or doing paperwork or whatever. She looked around. The place seemed perfect for him to grow up. There was a café, a gift shop, paint shop, you name it. But one particular building caught her attention.

_Doctor Hudson's Clinic_

She didn't know what, but something pulled her towards that building. She looked around. Maybe… Just maybe… her baby could grow up around someone who had a preparation. She looked down at her hood, to the little bundle. She took it in one tire and placed the bundle on the door step, along with a note. She raised her tire and knocked hard on the door before speeding away, hiding behind one of the buildings. Waiting for the doctor to open the door. A few rain drops started to fall until it started to rain at full force. She could hear her baby starting to cry. Finally, the door opened, revealing a cobalt blue Hudson Hornet. The hornet looked at the bundle on the floor. With his tire, he separated a piece of cloth and he could not believe his eyes.

"Chrysler…" He whispered.

Inside the cloth was a small red baby sports car who cried none stop. The hornet looked around, searching for the car who left the baby out there in the cold rain. There was no one, so with a worried face, he took the baby inside.

The mother smiled. She give a sad chuckle. Of course fate was rather strange sometimes. That car was the Fabulous Hudson Hornet. He would recognize him anywhere, stickers or no stickers. She turned away. She had to leave, now. Or otherwise, she would be tempted to get her baby back. So with all her might, she drove away at top speed, being grateful that her engine was a quiet one.

Meanwhile, Doc placed the baby on the old checkup for infants he had in case he ever got infant patients. He took away the wet cloth from the baby revealing his color to be a bright red. He couldn't see his eyes, though. They were tightly closed because of his nonstop crying. Doc quickly took out a dry cloth and dried the baby. He quickly went to the kitchen grabbed a bottle of the softest oil he had and gave it to the baby. As soon as the baby got the smell of oil he started sucking at the can and stopped crying. He opened his eyes to reveal a clear blue color. He looked at Doc. He had never seen the car before, but he was feeding him, so that was good.

Doc sighed. A baby. What was he supposed to do with a baby? He looked back at the cloth and saw a note sticking out of it. He picked it with his tire and started reading.

_To who it may concern…_

_This is my little son. He is only two months old and his birthday is on June 26. He is my life and joy. But I have made mistakes that puts his life in danger. In less than a month, I will be dead. I love him and please let him know that I will always. I am trusting my baby to you. I am trusting you my biggest treasure. My little Lightning McQueen._

Doc sighed again. So the mother couldn't take care of the baby. Doc was brought back to reality when he heard Lightning sniffling. He looked at the baby. He was waiving his little tires towards him, obviously wanting to be picked up. Doc hesitated, but put him up on his hood anyway. The little baby giggled as he was placed on Doc's hood. He was so tiny, too tiny for his age. It should concern Doc as a doctor, but strangely, it didn't. Because the little sports car was full of energy and joy. Doc smiled.

He was going to take care of his new son.

**I will continue this story whenever I can or on demand.** **I really hope you like it since I noticed there aren't many stories about Doc and Lightning father/son stories.**


	2. Doc's a daddy!

Next morning, everybody gathered up at Flo's Café. Sheriff had a friendly talk with Ramone while a young teenage Mater tried to do a prank to Luigi and Guido. Red sipped quietly on his can of oil. Fillmore and Sarge were still fighting over their tones and Lizzy slept away. The breakfast was good, as usual thanks to Flo. But something was missing from their daily routine.

"Where's Doc?" Sheriff asked suddenly. Everyone stopped what they were doing, including Lizzy, who jerked awake. Sheriff shrugged with his tires. "I mean, he is usually up before most of us."

"What are you talking about? He's right behind ya'!" Flo said.

Sheriff turned around and smiled at his old friend. "Doc! About time." Then he noticed how tired he looked. He looked like he had seen the Ghost Light. "Doc? What happened to you?"

"I need to show you something." He drove back to his clinic, Sheriff followed.

Doc was about to push the button to open the door, but he failed two times to do so due to his lack of sleep, always pressing the ground instead of the button. At the third time, he finally opened the door and drove inside. When they reached the office, Sheriff moved his tires awkwardly. "You know, my appointment is not today."

"This is not about your appointment. This is about what caused me to lose my precious sleeping hours." Doc drove towards a small basket (it was only temporary) and pulled back the baby blue blanket, revealing a sleeping baby car.

Sheriff would never admit whatever horrible things went through his head at the time. "HOLY DODGE! WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET A BABY!?"

Lightning woke up and started crying. Doc glared at Sheriff. "I just got him to sleep, you idiot!" He hissed.

Sheriff bit his lip. "Sorry, Doc. But a baby? How did you get a baby? Wait! You had a girlfriend you never told us about and now you have to raise your kid? Doc, you're better than that- how could-"

Doc slammed the letter on Sheriff's hood. He read it and looked at Doc. He gave a nervous chuckled. "So, not yours and you are going to raise him." He stated. "How are you going to do that?"

"I have no idea."

"Well, every first-time parent has no idea. Don't worry, its normal." He watched as Doc put Lightning on his hood and started to bounce him slightly. In an instant, the baby yawned and went back to sleep. "You what…" Sheriff said lowering his voice. "You're the exception. You know what you are doing."

Doc placed Lightning back on the basket. "No, I don't. I never cared for a child before. Except in medical school and that was only about two times." He sighed. "I don't know how to raise a kid."

Sheriff smiled. "Well, you do have a tire with children."

Doc glared. "He bit my tire last night, thinking it was food."

Sheriff tried not to laugh. "Er- okay. But listen, nobody knows how to take care of kids, it just… comes naturally. And I can tell you are a natural."

Doc sighed. "Do you really think I can do this job?'

"Sure!"

Suddenly, there was the sound of falling boxes and Doc and Sheriff looked at the window. All their friends, who were previously at the café, were listening to their conversation. Mater, who made the boxes fell, laughed nervously. "Hey, guys! Doc's a daddy!"

Lightning woke up again and started crying. Doc wanted to cry too. The rest of the citizens glared at Mater.

"Jeje…" He blushed in embarrassment.


	3. In which baby gets a can of oil

"Here ya' go, little baby. It's on the house." Flo had prepared a special baby oil formula at lunch and gave it to Lightning, who eagerly accept it. Everybody was at the café, cooing at the baby. At first, the baby was a crying machine, but warmed up quickly when Mater appeared. Doc had lowered him onto the ground, right where he was drinking his baby oil.

Doc asked Flo for something strong to keep him awake. Lizzy kept commenting that she had once seen a car that looked like the baby and everyone else kept cooing, almost forgetting their own lunch.

"Oh, can ah' babysit, Doc?"

"Not even in your dreams, Mater." Doc answered tiredly.

"What 'bout when he's older?"

"No."

"Awww… Can ah' at least play with him?'

"Maybe."

Everybody chuckled at the young tow truck. He sure was something. Flo came back with Doc's oil. "You sure didn't get any sleep last night, did ya', honey?"

Doc sighed and said nothing. It was a little obvious.

"Care to tell us how he bit your tire?" Sheriff said with a smirk. "Did it hurt?"

Doc glared, but shook his hood. "No, he's just two months old. He doesn't have any teeth yet." He said as he watched the baby trying to crawl towards Mater. And he was having a hard time.

"So there was another car here last night and no one noticed?" Lizzy said. "Where were you Sheriff? 'Cause I'm pretty sure you were sleeping off on the job, were you?"

Sheriff blushed and resumed his lunch. Everybody else laughed. It was obvious Sheriff slept on the job, even on the day. Maybe he was just getting old. No one noticed that Lightning had made his way towards Mater and was now poking him on the side. Mater noticed him and smiled. "Well, aren't ya' one for attention?" He carefully picked him up and placed him over his hood. The baby giggled when Mater laughed. And that brought the attention of the adults.

Ramone, who was watching the scene along with everyone else, commented. "Guess the little _Rayo _got himself a new playmate."

Luigi suddenly gasped. "How could-a I forget? Guido! We have-a baby tires on the back. Maybe some of-a them will fit-a him just right."

"Pit stop?"

"Yes, Guido. Pit stop, but for-a babies."

"Okay!"

**I know the chapters are short, but since I have to prepare for graduation and final tests, there's too much to do. I promise they will get longer. Anyway, what Lizzy said about seeing another car like Lightning is a reference to that Cars Toon where Mater and Lightning go back in time. And the word **_**Rayo**_** means Lightning in Spanish.**


	4. Father and Son

It has only been two nights. Two nights and this baby was already getting on his nerves. He slowly opened his eyes, which were bloodshot, and looked at the alarm clock. 2:39 a.m. He growled and slowly drove towards Lightning's basket. As soon as the baby laid eyes on Doc, he started to giggle. Doc sighed. The baby has done the same thing three times tonight. He was obviously the kind of car that was always seeking attention. He placed the baby on the floor and let him wonder around the room. Being so young, Lightning couldn't consume fuel until he was around three months old, so the baby car had to pull himself forward with his front tires for now.

He accidentally slammed his hood with a table. He shook himself and took off to another direction. Doc chuckled as he watched Lightning poking one of his medicine books. Sure, he never imagined himself a… father.

They word sounded so foreign to him. His own father wasn't so loving towards him. He never taught him how to be a father or how to deal with kids or anything else really. He had to learn it on his own. He didn't know the first thing about babies other than how their health should be. Guess he was consumed in his own thoughts because he didn't noticed the little car poking his hood, obviously wanting to be picked up. Doc put him over his hood and the baby started to explore his surroundings. Everything was seemed smaller to him and it fascinated him. Doc smiled as the baby looked at him in the eyes. That's when it hit him.

This baby was needing him. He had no one else in this cruel world other than him. The baby was trusting him to be taken care of. Depending on him to feed him and cure him when he's sick. To watch him fall and help him stand up again and again. To be there in the most important moments of his life. The day he learns to drive, to talk, all the way up to his wedding and the birth of his own children. This baby gave him unconditional love from the very beginning. He was here to make a difference in Doc's life.

He was there to be loved above anything else.

Doc chuckled. He always considered life was like racing. You started up at one point and finished on another, and when you finish, that's when you noticed that everything went too fast. This kid was just a rookie. "Well, rookie, I guess you really are my son."

Lightning, not understanding anything, stared into Doc's crystal blue eyes. He quickly decided that stared into someone else's eyes was pretty boring, so he decided to try suck on his tiny tire. Doc laughed and placed the kid on the floor. But as soon as Lightning touched the floor, he started whimpering. Doc quickly put him back over his hood and the baby ceased with the whimpers. He just stretched his axles and fell asleep.

Doc sighed. He really should make him sleep on his own so this couldn't happen in the future. _'But one night won't hurt, right?'_

So he just made himself comfortable and fell asleep as well.


	5. Bath Time

The days were quiet in Doc Hudson's life. But those days were over three days ago with the arrival of the little Lightning McQueen. The baby would wake him up crying, in the need of going to the bathroom or wanting a good bottle of baby oil. Or like right now, making himself a pretty mess of baby oil and now Doc was attempting to bath him. Code word: attempting.

He simply couldn't get the baby into the water. The personal car wash in the bathroom would have made things easier, but Lightning kind of got afraid of it. So that left one option and that was bathing him manually with cloth and soap. The problem was getting him still.

"Lightning, if you can't get still you won't be clean and if you're not clean you won't be able to play."

But the baby just kept moving. And that was irritating Doc to no end. There was a knock on the door.

"Doc! You alright in there?" It was Sheriff. Doc growled.

"I'm fine! Just a little busy."

"If by busy you mean Lightning, then I suggest you come out, Flo prepared baby oil for him."

"I gave him some baby oil already and he just made a mess of himself, now I'm trying to bath him."

There was silence on the other side of the door. "Do you know how to bath a baby car?"

Doc hesitated. "Yeah, I do…"

"Are you sure?" Sheriff said. There was a hint of amusement in his voice. "Do you need any help?"

"Do YOU know how to bath baby cars?"

"Er- I'll be at Flo's. But if you need help, call someone."

"Thank you, Sheriff, you are a big help." Doc said sarcastically. Just then, Lightning splashed some water with soap directly onto Doc's eyes. He gasped and tried to blink away the soap. By the time he could see, his eyes were red. And Lightning was laughing off his hood, thinking that splashing water into someone's eyes is funny. Doc glared at the baby.

"No, Lightning. You don't throw water into cars' eyes. It's not good."

Lightning did not understood what he was being told, but he knew the hornet was mad at him. Doc took the chance that the baby was still and quickly tried to bath him. But the baby was too fast and splashed water into his eyes again.

He had no choice. "FLO!"

OOO

"That's how you bath a baby car." Flo said as she quickly dried Lightning with a clean towel.

Doc, whose eyes were almost as red as Lightning's paint job, could only stare at the café owner. "How did you do it?"

"You have to make him believe water is fun."

Doc just stared. "That's it?"

"Yeah, pretty much. For babies and children alike, everything has to be fun for them, otherwise they will just oppose at whatever you say, honey."

"Where did you learned to take care of children?"

Flo shrugged. "When I was a teenager ah' used to babysit my cousins."

"I see."

"Well, if you need any help, don't hesitate on calling any of us." She drove away, but not before saying: "You sure can sometimes be stubborn."

Doc turned his head back to Lightning, who was now as shiny as a trophy. The baby giggled. Doc couldn't help but smile. Sure this baby was a pain in the bumper, but he sure was something to be loved.


	6. Mater the Babysitter

The next day shouldn't have surprised Doc. Everyone in town wanted to spend time with little Lightning. Specially Mater. Before Lightning's arrival, Mater was the youngest citizen in Radiator Springs. He had no one else that was close enough to his age. And when Lightning arrived, even though he was just a baby, it meant he had someone new to play with or simply spend time with. Didn't matter if he was a teenager.

It's been a couple of years since he himself arrived to Radiator Springs. He was just five, hungry and homeless. The orphanage was pretty messed up and he decided he had enough. He escaped and drove for days and days without rest, until he ended up here. There were no kids, but Mater didn't care. Everybody was so nice to him. In fact, it was Sheriff who offered him a place to stay. Sure, Sheriff was like a father to him, but he didn't want to be called 'dad' or 'papa'. Just plain Sheriff. Now Mater was seventeen.

But back to reality, how was he going to play with a baby? They just ate, slept, and did number 1 and 2. Repeat the process. Still, he wanted to try.

Mater knocked on the clinic's door, waiting for Doc to answer. "Come in!"

Mater opened the door to the clinic and drove towards the office. Doc was sitting behind his desk, trying to fill in a few documents and Lightning kept messing around with him. Doc looked and saw Mater. "Hello, Mater. Do you need anything?"

"Nope, but ah' was wondering if ah' could play with Lightning."

Doc looked at Mater and then at Lightning and sighed. "Fine, Mater. But only because I need to finish my job."

"Great!"

"One more thing, I want you two to stay in Flo's café. That way the other can keep an eye on both of you."

"Okeydokey. Come on, McQueen!" He quickly took Lightning and put him over his hood, much to Lightning's delight.

OOO

Stay in Flo's café. Sure, easy enough. Nobody told him babies could be quiet and slip away. Now, where was that little rascal? He better find him or Doc was going to have his engine on a silver plate. Mater chewed on his lip. Where would you look for a red sports baby car with a tendency of despairing? Not on the café, not on the tractor fields (just in case), not in Lizzy's store…

There he was! Mater gave a sigh of relief and drove towards the Stanley statue, where little Lightning was admiring the pretty red flowers. Maybe wondering why they were the same color as him. Or why the firetruck named Red was the same color of him. Red watered the flowers and Lightning stared in awe. He extended his tire and touched the water, laughing when some splashed into his face. Mater pared quietly beside Red.

"How did he get here? He was under ma' watch?" He asked. "One minute he was there and the other, he was not!"

Red shrugged and kept watering the flowers. He never spoke much. He was the only car in Radiator Springs who was closer to Mater's age than anybody else's. Lighting gently touched one of the flowers' petals and seeing it move with the wind, he stepped back and hid behind Red. Mater and Red chuckled as Lightning poked his head from his hiding spot and move closer to the flower. Mater blew some air towards the flower so it would move and Lightning quickly went back to his hiding place. Both Red and Mater chuckled again at the baby's curiosity.

Doc stepped outside his clinic and stretched his axles. He looked towards Flo's café to check on Mater and Lightning and discovered they weren't where they were supposed to be. Sudden panic filled Doc. Did Mater took him tractor tipping? That was the first question that came to his mind, but hearing muffled chuckles and baby gasps, he looked towards the Stanley statue. There was Mater, Lightning and Red playing with some water and Red's flowers. The three of them having a good time.

Doc smiled. As long as they weren't tractor tipping, playing with water and flowers fine with him.


	7. Italian

"Lightning, say 'ah!'" Doc said, trying to get Lightning to drink his baby oil. Lightning however, refused to accept it. Doc, being the doctor he was, had checked him twice already and the baby was perfectly healthy. He was just being pecky about his food. It was already noon, six days already since the baby's arrival. Everybody was enjoying diner at Flo's. Except Doc, who had been trying to get Lightning to eat something. Doc just gave up and resumed his own oil.

"Maybe he wants some of my organic oil, man." Fillmore said.

Sarge glared at him. "You won't give the young soldier that pathetic excuse for oil."

"Respect the organics, man."

"He's just pecky about his food, like most of us are sometimes." Doc said.

"How is he adjusting to his new wheels?" Luigi asked hopefully.

"_Ha bisogno di cambiarele gomme_?" (Does he need to change tires) Guido asked. Of course, no one except Luigi understood that he was willing to change the tires if it was need to.

At hearing Guido's strange language skills, Lightning started crawling towards him. "_Torna al tuo papá._" (Get back to your dad)

The baby giggled, not understanding anything Guido said. But he wanted to stay and hear him talk funny. Guido looked confused. "_Qual é il problema, piccolo uomo?" _(What's the matter, little one?)

Lightning giggled again. Everybody else laughed at the little car. That's when Luigi realized something. "Guido? Do you know-a what this-a mean?"

Guido shook his head.

"It means-a he's interested in our mother language, Italian!"

Guido smiled and turned to the baby. The rest of the townsfolk laughed. Lightning just giggled. "_Vuoi imparare l'italiano?"_ (Do you want to learn Italian?)

Lightning just giggled. Doc smiled. "Maybe you can teach him when he is older."

Luigi gasped. "That's-a right! Guido! Do you still have all those dictionaries and Italian books?" Guido nodded. "Perfecto!"

"I meant when he is about four or so. If you try to teach him two languages at the time he starts speaking, it could made him need vocal therapy." Doc said.

"Oh, we'll-a wait, right Guido?"

Guido nodded.


	8. And I will speed 200 miles

"Alright, Lightning, stay still." Doc said as everyone watched how he started to fill Lightning's tank. Everyone waited until the baby's tank got fully filled. "Alright, now try to start your engine."

The baby just looked mindlessly at Doc, obviously having no idea what the older car said. He just blinked. But there was this strange, yet, new sensation running down his body. And by instinct, he started his engine.

To the older cars, the baby's engine sounded very strange and they looked at Doc for an answer. The older just shook his head. "It's normal for babies. Their engines are not accustomed to the fuel-"

He was cut off by a loud engine sound and before he knew it, he had a hyper baby running circles in the same place. A little bit too fast, there even was smoke coming from him.

The others stared in awe, but Doc looked at the little car in worry. That's when he realized: Lightning had the engine of a race car, judging by the loud sounds it emitted and-

_Bang!_

-And because he just speed down the street towards the courthouse.

"Lightning!" Without thinking, Doc revived his engine and went after him.

Lightning, however, laughed and was having fun. He had never driven this fast before. Not that he ever drove before, but he was pretty sure adults didn't drove this fast! He was beginning to come close to the courthouse when he decided he will turn around and drive back to the café. He noticed that the street was too big and the café too far for him. So accelerated more.

And Doc had to do the same. He had never driven that fast in years. Not since his little accident. "Slam you breaks, Lightning! Your BREAKS!"

The little car got scared at the sudden shout and slammed the breaks, but not before almost crashing into a wall. Almost. He had slammed into something soft, like a tire. Or let's just say, lots of tires. Turned out Luigi and Guido threw the softness tires they could find into his way. The baby stayed there, his tires were quivering from fear. Doc stopped beside him and pulled him close to him.

"There, there, you're fine now, rookie."

Lightning looked at him with big, watering blue eyes and quivering lips. If he wasn't about to cry, Doc would found that scene really cute. He just grabbed the tiny baby with his tire and placed him over his hood.

"Doc! Doc! Its tha' baby alright?" Mater asked as he and the others approached them.

Doc answered while trying to calm down a crying baby. "I believe so, it was just the shock I guess. But either way I'll run some tests, including his speed limit."

"Good, you do that, because when he grows up, I don't want him speeding down the street." Sheriff said.

"That's why we have Willie Butte's."

Doc quickly went back to his clinic and placed the baby over the table. He quickly ran over the tests. The temperature, checking for any injuries, the usual. He grabbed a small speed scanner. He sighed. He placed it over Lightning's hood, who had calmed down, and waited for the baby's speed limit to appear. Doc could have sworn his engine stopped.

_200 miles per hour_

That couldn't be right! The baby sure was fast, but he couldn't be that fast! Doc grabbed the speed scanner, pushed the reset button and placed it over Lightning's hood again. And repeated the same process ten times because the results were the same. Meanwhile, Lightning was enjoying the little game. Doc just had to accept it. This baby was a born racer. He was so lost in his thoughts, that he didn't noticed Sheriff entering the clinic and closing the door, glaring at the Hornet in front of him.

"So, a racer, uh?"

Doc gasped and turned around. He glared at Sheriff. "Don't do that! You could have given me an engine attack!" He took a moment to recover his breath. "And yes, the baby can run up to 200 miles per hour. Boy, you will have your tires full when he hits puberty-"

"I didn't meant the baby, I meant you."

Doc felt a strange heat and suddenly felt very, very nervous. "I- I don't know what you are talking about."

"Listen, Paul." Sheriff called by his first name. That was never good. "The others may not noticed it, but I did. The way you chased down that baby, none of us could have done it, not even me. And that baby was driving like hell! And I'm pretty sure you accelerated from cero to about sixty or seventy miles in less than a minute. Got anything else to hide?"

Doc was speechless. "I…"

"Also, a few weeks ago, was passing by your garage door, looking for you. And what I found was a bit more interesting."

"You had no right to be in my garage!"

Sheriff raised a tire, allowing him to finish. "I found three Piston Cups. _Three_. All with the name of _Hudson Hornet_. I was shocked at first, thinking they were just imitations. Really good imitations. Or you were just a big fan. But when I saw those old newspapers in boxes and photos and medals and that picture hanged over the wall, I knew it was you. Everything clicked." Then his glance softened. "Why didn't you ever told us, Paul? Why didn't you ever told me? We're best friends, brothers even!" He paused. "Doc?"

Doc was trying to hold back years full of tears. "I never told anyone because, because…" He couldn't take it anymore and let the tears run over his hood. "Because it was too hard, ok!? All my life I trained to be an amazing racer and then suddenly, I have a crash, I'm out for two months and when I get back…" He paused for a moment, looking at the floor and lowering his voice. "When I came back, I expected a big welcome and you know what they said? They said 'You're history!'… and moved on to the next rookie in line." He sniffed and sighed. "I had so much to give, and they didn't even let me show them." He looked up at Sheriff, his glance hardened but his eyes were watery. "I ran away. Away from everything. From fame, the supposed friends I had and from racing. I got depressed. I had no purpose in life. I went to college, trying to make something out of myself. It was when I came to Radiator Springs. The rest is history." He felt free. All those years of pain and sorrow were slowly drifting away.

Sheriff casted a sympathetic glance at Doc. "That still doesn't fully answer my question. Why didn't you ever told us when you knew we were your friends? We wouldn't have judged you. And what if I was a convicted criminal disguised as a sheriff?"

Doc just gave him a sarcastic 'oh really?' face. Sheriff rolled his eyes. "You're right, I'm not. But no one can judge anyone. And you didn't even did anything wrong."

Doc sighed. "I guessed that if no one knew who I really was, my past wouldn't come back and hunt me down. I guessed I was wrong."

There was a deep silence that none of them wanted to interrupt, except for Lightning of course, trying to get their attention. Doc turned back to the baby. "I don't want to tell anyone else."

Sheriff suddenly felt uneasy and looked from side to side. "Um…"

Doc turned back to Sheriff. "What?"

"Mater might have heard me talking to myself about this and might have told the others."

Doc just blinked slowly.

**I did promised you guys a long chapter and here it is! Hope you enjoyed it. I wanted to change the fact that no one knew of Doc's past and make something funny come out of it. Like Doc chasing down Mater… It would be like a small town's secret. Also, i want to apologize for LONG wait. I'll resume my excuse in less than five words. Moving away, College, sick grandma. But she's better now. Anyway, review!**


	9. A Sclice of Life

**Hello! It's been a long time. But ever since I saw Cars 3, I just knew I couldn't leave this story on just eight chapters. I knew I had to add. But I will speed up the story. I've been wanting to get to Lightning's teenage years for some time. He' going to drive Doc crazy. Any other baby story will come as some sort of flashback.**

**Small Lightning Bolt**

**Chapter 9: A Slice of Life**

"Alright, hotshot! Listen up!" Doc glared down at the baby, who just seemed confused at the adult. "I don't want you running off, ok? I am getting old to have a race with you so think of running away to who knows where and I'll ground you. Got that?"

Lightning stared at the adult with wide eyes, obviously not understanding anything that was said to him. Doc sighed. If he was told five years ago that he was going to raise a baby, he would have laughed and tell them they were crazy. Now he realized he was the crazy one. Just a months ago, Lightning had gone crazy with his new found speed and almost crashed into Luigi's building, but was quickly saved by Guido, who threw tires on the baby's way to slow him down.

But Lightning kept running off anyway.

Doc was seriously considering not giving the baby too much gas, but he was just a baby and it was crucial for him to get it.

"And you don't understand anything I say…" He sighed. "This is harder than I thought."

"Ba!"

Doc stared. "What…"

"Bab… bad… dab… ba… ba…"

Doc kept staring. This was the first time he heard the baby mumble something that wasn't pure nonsense.

"Da…"

Doc's eyes widened. "Heavens…"

"Dad!" Lightning laughed. "Da! Da! Da!" Doc smiled. "That's right, rookie. I'm your dad."

OOO

"DOC!" Sheriff yelled and slammed open the doors to the clinic. Doc stared back and Sheriff growled. "Use that racing speed of yours and get that blasted little delinquent you call son off my streets!"

Doc choked on a laugh and Sheriff glared. "What's so funny!?"

"Oh, Sheriff. I think the heat of the sun is affecting you." Doc chuckled.

"No such thing!"

"Lightning is only two and a half."

"And races like a demon!"

"I know that. No need to remind me." Doc rolled his eyes.

"He was racing down the street like a fireball."

"Again, Sheriff. It's the heat."

"No it isn't!"

Doc rolled his eyes and smiled. "You better stop screaming. The kid's been taking his afternoon nap in that corner. All afternoon." He signaled to a pile of blankets at the corner of his office. Above them, a little red car slept.

Sheriff stared in disbelief while Doc chuckled. "Go to Flo's. Drink some cold oil. Doctor's orders." He tried not to laugh too hard if he didn't want to wake the toddler.

Sheriff groaned and left the office.

OOO

Flo and Ramone looked down at the three year old red car, who looked back with a guilty expression. He broke one of Ramone's shop's window with a ball.

"I'm sowwy…" Lightning mumbled. He sniffed.

"Oh, darling. It's ok."

"Of course, Rayito. But remember that you can't play with balls near a window. You could have hurt yourself."

Flo and Ramone had adopted the aunt and uncle roles since Lightning came to town and cared deeply for him. Or maybe they just tried to spoil him rotten, like Doc would say.

"Are telling you telling daddy?" Lightning sniffed. "He said the Cacti Monster would follow me if I was bad…" He whined.

Flo and Ramone glanced at each other and sighed. Flo gave the little car a gentle smile. "He doesn't need to know, honey. But you will have to help clean up your mess."

Lightning eagerly nodded. Flo and Ramone chuckled. Ever since Lightning hit the terrible two phase, he became a little menace, especially for Sheriff. The kid had too big of a heart and a lot of respect for his father, but that wasn't enough to keep him in check. So Doc devised something to do it. He told the others, except Mater since he was a very superstitious car, about the Cacti Monster trying to get Lightning. And it worked. At first, they all felt bad for lying to him, but it was either that or ending with week-long hoodaches.

OOO

Lightning was five when he broke Lizzy's radio in one of his speed boosts. He willingly did anything that was asked of him for the rest of the week as long as he didn't have to get near the old car. In his humble opinion, she scared him.

When he was six, he was misbehaving badly, so Sarge took it as a challenge to treat him as a cadet for the rest of the week. Nobody knows how intense the training was, but Doc was impressed that Sarge's military training worked wonders on Lightning's discipline. As for Filmore, the hippie van taught Lightning peace making techniques which, ironically, worked on Sarge and the van himself when they argued.

Lightning was seven when he managed his first full Italian conversation with Guido and Luigi. Along with teaching Italian to the young car, the Italian duo thought him all he needed to know about tires.

Lightning was eight when he decided to keep Sheriff some company one lonely night. He ended up listening to a lot of interesting stories of the old days.

Lightning often talked to Red when he had no one else to talk to and when he was ten, he gifted the fire truck more flowers to water… even if he had gotten covered in cacti patches in the process.

Also, when he was ten…

"Can I go to the track, dad?"

Doc looked at the young ten year old staring at him with hopeful eyes.

"I already finished my homework!"

"No."

"I cleaned my room."

"No."

"I had my shift at Flo's!"

"No."

"I woke Sheriff from his slumber!"

"No."

"I made sure Mater didn't scare off the tractors!"

"I'll think about it." Doc said and went back to his newspaper.

"Come on!"

Doc sighed. He was regretting the day he showed Lightning the dirt track. "Fine! But only for a few minutes and I'm going with you. And you're not going any faster than fifty miles."

"Yes!" The ten year old said under his breath. "Let's go, dad!" And he raced towards Willie Butte's. Doc followed with a sigh. He wasn't sure how Lightning had gotten so into racing, but he was worried. He knew Lightning didn't know anything about his past as a racing car, he wasn't planning on telling him. He knew that with Lightning's ten year old mind, he wouldn't be able to understand. Maybe someday, but that day was not today.

"Hey, rookie!" Doc called after spending half an hour watching the young red car doing laps. "It's noon and you know Flo will have our bumpers if we are late for supper again."

Lightning groaned. "Coming…" Doc smiled at the little car as they drove back to town. Boy was he lucky to call Lightning his son. But he was worried about this new found racing passion the kid discovered…

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